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This snapshot shows Jupiter's swirling, banded atmosphere and signature vortices.

New Research

“Great Cold Spot” Discovered on Jupiter

The ancient storm was hiding in plain sight

This Artificial Neural Network Generates Absurd Pickup Lines

But the technology probably won’t be able to land you a date anytime soon

The Mark Strand Theater in 1914. See more images of the luxurious movie palaces at the Library of Congress website.

Movie Palaces Let Everyday Americans Be Royalty

They were an important part of the studio system that flourished until the late 1940s

Sergei Korolev was technically still a political prisoner when he began working on the Soviet rocket program.

The First Manned Space Flight Was the Rocket Designer’s Victory as Much as Yuri Gagarin’s

Sergei Korolev designed the entire Soviet rocket program. But nobody knew his name until after he died

One Million Internet Users Created This Piece of Art

Contributions range from the juvenile to bizarre to strangely beautiful

Uranus and its aurora

Cool Finds

Take a Peek at the Auroras on Uranus

This composite image gives the best view yet of the seventh planet’s atmospheric lights and ring

Are creatures like this at the bottom of animals' family tree?

New Research

Scientists Think Comb Jellies May Have Come Before All Other Animals

Sorry, sponges—there’s a new oldest ancestor in town

This elaborate dance mask (ca. 1900) with representations of a spirit, seal, fish, and bird held in a human hand, was made by a Yup’ik artist from Alaska and is part of a group of Native American artworks that will soon be integrated into the Metropolitan Museum's American Wing.

Trending Today

The Met Will Finally Integrate Some Native American Art Into Its American Wing

Until now, indigenous art has lived in its own section

In the years after the Surgeon General confirmed the link between smoking and cancer, smoking cessation aids blossomed.

This Patented Smoking Deterrent Made Little Coughing Noises

The history of smoking cessation aids has a few funny detours like this one

Orcas Are Killed in Front of Tourists, Now Caribbean Nation Wrangles With Whaling Laws

The prime minister of St. Vincent will introduce legislation to outlaw orca hunting

Computer-assisted reconstruction of the cavities

New Research

13,000-Year-Old Fillings Were “Drilled” With Stone and Packed With Tar

You can’t handle the tooth

Califorctenus cacachilensis

Cool Finds

Huge New Spider Species Discovered in Mexican Cave

Califorctenus cacachilensis is the width of a softball and represents a new genus of arachnids

Part of the seized "Supergun," now at a museum in England.

The Bizarre Story of Saddam Hussein’s Failed “Supergun”

It was called “Big Babylon” and it was originally supposed to fire satellites into orbit

This really old statue has a surprisingly modern tale to tell.

Cool Finds

This 3,500-Year-Old Statue of a Syrian Refugee Remains One of Archaeology’s Most Important Finds

King Idrimi is getting digitized and his autobiography is as relevant as ever

A graffiti-covered complex in Queens will soon be high-rise apartments.

Trending Today

Graffiti Grudge Goes to Federal Court

5Pointz was once an international graffiti icon. Now, aerosol artists are fighting the developer who tore it down

New Research

New Survey Estimates Earth Has 60,065 Tree Species

Researchers from Botanic Gardens Conservation International compiled the list, finding that at least 10,000 tree species are at risk of extinction

Marine Le Pen Denies State’s Role in Deporting French Jews During WWII

Approximately 13,000 Jews were arrested by French authorities in July of 1942

The Meiji Emperor, who issued an influential educational announcement in 1890, poses with the imperial family.

Trending Today

Japan Will Allow Its Schools to Use a Controversial 19th-Century Imperial Text

The educational edict was banned after World War II for serving military and nationalistic purposes

The Eighteenth-Century Founder of Homeopathy Said His Treatments Were Better Than Bloodletting

Samuel Hahnemann was trying to fix the unscientific field of medicine

The caption to this cartoon from 'Scribner's Monthly' reads "Henry Bergh on Duty"

The ASPCA’s Founder Was Known as “The Great Meddler”

Although Bergh’s efforts to prevent animal cruelty weren’t well-received by all, the ASPCA did change how animals were seen in the United States

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